Since 2003, Pakistan and the United States have joined together to support the Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperation Program, which provides grants supporting research partnerships in a broad range of fields including education, health, engineering, agriculture, water resource management, and economic development. In the wake of the devastating earthquake of October 2005, the two countries launched a special grants program specifically designed to support Pakistani-US research collaboration in earthquake-related fields. Approximately $1 million provided by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was available to be awarded in 2006 to support projects aimed at building capacity in Pakistan and strengthening Pakistani-US cooperative relationships in earthquake-related research and development. Potentially eligible fields included but were not limited to engineering; construction management; geology; seismology; risk assessment; building code design and compliance; urban planning; and sociological, psychological, and health impacts.

Projects Funded Beginning in 2007

Following independent peer review on both the Pakistani and US sides and a joint selection meeting in Pakistan in December 2006, three projects were selected for funding beginning as of February 1, 2007. Updates on each are available through links on the project titles below: